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Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310

III. Rondeau – Allegro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · 1778 · A minor · 253 bars · 423 chords analysed

Mozart's first minor-key sonata, written in Paris in 1778 — the summer his mother died there. It is restless and dramatic.

Mozart's 18 piano sonatas span his career, from Munich in 1775 to Vienna in 1789. Most have three movements — fast, slow, fast — and the first movement is usually in sonata form: two contrasting themes, a development that travels through other keys, and a return home.

Keys visited: A minor, C major, E minor, A major.